


bedtime stories

by washingmachineheart



Category: Toy Story (Movies)
Genre: Drabbles, Multi, Not In Chronological Order, Other, Short Stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-03-20 03:23:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 4,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18984232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/washingmachineheart/pseuds/washingmachineheart
Summary: Drabbles on love, longing and possibly everything else that can come in-between.





	1. i wish i could get my things and just let go

They’re on her windowsill in Molly’s room. The sheriff with his head on her lap, sound asleep. The Davis’ were set to be gone for a few days due to a family emergency back in Mom's hometown. But the cowboy's job as a leader couldn't take much stops, just that day alone he had spent his day breaking up fights, fixing up batteries and planning new itineraries that would occupy them for the days ahead.

She knows just how tired he is. She has her hand on his vest and feels his breathing go up and down, murmuring his worries in his sleep. Momentarily she is at peace.

But all at once she feels overwhelming guilt plaguing into her porcelain heart, staring into the bright lights of town that led to a seemingly never-ending path of the unknown that she is deliriously curious about.

Sometimes, just _sometimes_. She wonders what it would be like to be free. To not feel the odd sense of emptiness on the days she repeats _help, help somebody_ do _something_. The days that could stretch out to weeks where she would just be standing motionless on her sill doing absolutely nothing at all, even when Andy and Molly were home.

She lives in constant debate with her conscience, wondering whether she could ever approach her cowboy on the subject. If he at least had some substantial answers he could offer her to shut down the entire thought process. If it was weird that a toy, of all things, questioned their purpose and place in the universe.

But she loves him, she really does. And knows too well that he’s too steadfast in the belief that toys should be there for their owners no matter the circumstance. And everyone else seemed to believe in it too.

So she doesn’t.


	2. shine on, diamond

Jessie had never told anyone this, but she was a quiet audience member to Bo’s dance concerts. 

She still remembers how it unfolded itself pretty clearly - Bo would be alone, accompanied only by a CD player propped up on the brown table where Andy did his homework. She then carefully slid in a disc lathered in pink-and-gold lettering, with her hands covered in tissue to not leave any marks on the back of it. When the music began to play and she would begin to twirl around the table gracefully, taking dainty steps and raising her hands every so now and then. 

Jessie thought she looked like a swan, gliding around as if she could take flight any second without a care in the world. 

Sometimes Woody would take the beauty out of it by joining her, even though his dancing was terrible. As much as she enjoyed poking the fun out of his atrocious moves disrupting a beautiful moment was more or less criminal. 

On odd days Jessie still instinctively glances towards Bonnie’s desk, just to see if there might be anyone cast under that same spell Bo was under back at Andy’s.


	3. imagine a world like that

**“Hi, you’ve reached Andy’s voicemail. If you’re hearing this, I’m probably asleep, in-between classes or I just don’t have time to be picking up your call. Just leave me a message and I’ll get right back to you when I can. But do it after the automatic beep because I’m not a quirky, relatable chick who’ll use their own voice for the beep just to sound adorable. Thanks!”**

 

**[Beep]**

 

“Liar. You fucking liar.” 

 

**“Sorry, we were unable to receive your voice message because we could not hear you or because of a bad connection. Please try again later. Goodbye.”**

 

“Woody? What are you doing with the landline?” 

 

“Nothing, Dolly. Go back to the bedroom.” 

 


	4. reality in motion

For a toy that had to be snapped back from delusion in the most arduous way possible, Buzz pretends quite often. 

He pretends he hasn’t read the instruction manual that Andy had conveniently placed in between two old elementary school books over and over for the past few years, just to remind himself about how much mechanics was put into making him come to life in the first place. 

He pretends not to listen to Woody crying at night when he thinks everyone is asleep, unsure to affirm if it’s because Andy is evidently growing up or a certain shepherdess’s absence. 

He pretends the sounds he emits when he presses his buttons aren’t coarse and barely audible, losing everything special that it had before. 

He pretends he didn’t eavesdrop one of Hamm and Mr Potato Head’s conversations - he can’t remember which toy said something like “Not even Buzz will be considered limited edition anymore. Sci-fi figurines have changed since Marvel, his franchise has lost its glory.” 

He pretends not to notice Jessie’s heavy breathing and murmuring incomprehensible sentences trying to calm herself down as she loses all sense of surrounding, pacing around the room and clutching her braid like it’s the only thing keeping her from doing something drastic. 

He pretends not to see the bubbles on his stickers forming slowly, reminding him every day that he isn’t the gallant space ranger that he once was when he crash-landed in Andy’s room.


	5. me and my husband

Sometimes, when you nurture certain feelings towards a special person it has the ability to bloom into something extraordinary - more than you could ever envision it to be, whether you could help it or not. 

 

For Bo, she will always remember it as the time Woody had grumbled about not being taken to cowboy camp over the fact that he was missing a hat. 

 

"Look under your boot," she said calmly, her blue eyes filled with amusement. 

 

"Don't be silly, my hat is not under my boot." He retorted, already folding his arms with full intent to give up on the discussion. 

 

"Would you just look?" she had replied in an exasperated tone, even though she didn't feel that way in the slightest. She simply wanted him to comply and follow her lead. 

 

"See? No hat. Just the word 'Andy'." 

 

"Uh huh. And the boy who wrote that would take you to camp, with or without your hat." 

 

She knew -  the moment she said that and he was offering her the most apologetic and sincere of expressions, finally sober from his irrational delusion. 

 

She didn't just  _ like _ him. She had grown to love him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just thought i'd slide this in as a heads up - there might be a disproportionate number of chapters that will mostly consist of bo and the other main three (buzz, woody, jessie) mainly because they have been pre-written quite some time ago as rough ideas. but that doesn't mean i'm not actively trying to include other miscellaneous characters in the toy story universe into this collection. so i genuinely apologise if you feel like i'm being biased! 
> 
> that being said i still hope you've enjoyed what you've read so far! comments and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.


	6. can you come through?

Rex wants to be  _ brave. _

 

He looks at himself in the mirror, and the sight of his disproportionate body ratio subdues him immediately. 

 

Rex wants to be  _ terrifying. _

 

An attempt to roar only comes out as a meek croak, followed by Hamm and Mr Potato Head’s snide laughter. 

 

Rex wants to be  _ mean.  _

 

Slinky spills a pint of paint on him by accident, but he says sorry first. 

 

Rex wants to be  _ confident. _

 

The words that don’t come out from Trixie’s mouth intimidates him more than it should. 

 

Rex wants to be  _ calm. _

 

Though he won’t admit that Buttercup’s scary stories are one of the thousand reasons he plays video games throughout the night knowing he's not supposed to. 

 

Rex wants to be a _ hero. _

 

 He then remembers that those are only limited to virtual avatars and lately he hasn’t been getting on the leaderboard either.

 

Rex wants to be  _ anything that isn’t himself.  _

 

But sometimes it’s really, really hard to admit to yourself that the things that you want aren’t necessarily things that you need. 


	7. wishing on a star that's just a satellite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy pride month!

You are a space toy, therefore it is of no surprise that you have a natural inclination towards astronomical related things. 

 

You enjoy sneaking out on odd days, where the moon is full and the entire sky would be occupied by stars.  You could easily spot planets amongst them, and you’d feel the soldier in you well up with pride. You close your eyes and try to remember what it was like, even if it never actually happened. What you would give to feel the euphoria of zero gravity, the ecstasy of being under the galactic alliance, the never-ending adventure of protecting the universe from unnamed evil. 

 

You hate to admit it, but it feels good. You hate to think that you almost want that state of mind back, where you were blissfully unaware of the wayward realities of purpose and belonging. 

 

But on those odd days, sometimes a certain sheriff came to join you. He would tip his hat in greeting, smiled at you knowingly, and asked you what you were thinking about. If the alliance was doing fine without you. What stars had names and how in heaven’s name you knew which ones were the planets. Sometimes he would gaze up with yearning eyes, maybe he was making a wish. You knew that he was gazing directly at a cluster of satellites but always felt it would be rude to point that one out. 

 

You had always had the notion that he was certainly more fixated to reality than anyone else in the room. But maybe, just maybe. It would seem that he’d wish for a time he could be reset to demo mode too. If he was ever in a state of demo mode at all. 

 

So you smile at him back, and tell him all about the stars, planets and satellites - and possibly everything else that would be existing in the universe of the two of you. And maybe, you think reality isn’t all that bad. 

  
  
  



	8. meet me in the hallway

Jessie had a hard time trying to remember what fresh air felt like, in the literal sense. 

 

There were days when she felt like the dreary, gray four walls that surrounded her daily were prison. Natural light poured itself from only one window, which was conveniently locked. Even then the view was far from relaxing - the heyday of rushing vehicles stressed her out if she stared for too long. 

 

She had to admit that while the very prospect of Japan excited her enough to keep going, it had been  _ years _ . Years long that the remaining pieces of the Roundup gang had been rotting in Al's office, only being able to wait for the final piece to somehow arrive by itself. And they were all very aware that each of them had gone past their manufacturing dates.

 

Every day felt long and drearily uncertain. The completion of the roundup gang seemed impossible at this rate, though she wouldn't dare admit that out loud. 

 

"It's our destiny," Pete reiterated heavily, his tiny fingers clinging to the plastic. "This way, we can last forever. No more heartbreak, no agonizing about growing up. Did you hear me, Jessie? We can last  _ forever _ ." 

 


	9. pillow talk (i)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> possible ts4 spoilers?

“You  _ knew _ you’d be given away?” 

 

**“Yes.** ” 

 

“How? When? Why didn’t you say anything?” 

 

**“Even before it happened. I always knew the day would come, Sheriff. It’s not your fault or mine. It’s just circumstance.”**

 

“Why didn’t you at least talk to me about it? I thought... you loved me.” 

 

**“Oh, sweetie. You really think** **_that’s_ ** **the reason I didn’t say anything?”**

 


	10. pillow talk (ii)

“Florecita?” 

 

_ “Mmm.. Buzz? Why aren’t you asleep? Go back to sleep.”  _

 

“I just wanted to tell you something.” 

 

_ “Okay. Go on, then. _ ” 

 

“I… I love you, florecita. More than anything.” 

 

_ “Are you sure? Because I could have sworn I saw you make a move on W- ouch! Don’t you poke me!”  _

 

“I mean it. I just wanted to tell you just in case I.. might not have the chance to. You don’t have to say anything right now. I mean, no pressure.” 

 

_ “Buzz.”  _

 

“Yes?” 

 

_ “You should know Woody’s not the only one who would be willing to jump out of a moving vehicle for you.”  _

 

“I don’t understand.” 

 

_ “I love you too, space ranger.”  _


	11. say you won't let go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not entirely sure if this is a spoiler, but if you haven't seen toy story 4 be warned.

“Nothing’s  _ that  _ important, you know.”

 

Bo scoffed, fighting the urge to brush the tiny policewoman off her shoulder. She liked Giggles, she really did, but some days she genuinely felt like Giggles still had a long way to go in the empathizing department.

 

It was her first month down at the fair, having successfully escaped Second Chance Antiques with her a while ago. The community of lost toys present had welcomed her with them generously, and Bo was immensely grateful for the hospitality and shelter they were able to provide her.

 

Despite all this – some nights she found herself waking up in a stream of tears, desperately missing Molly’s daisy-scented, peony-coloured room. It wasn’t that she wasn’t ever well aware of her inevitable reality. It was a lot worse knowing she simply wasn’t…  _ wanted _ by anyone anymore. 

 

Giggles had been keen on helping her move on from the lamp life she was accustomed to from the moment she set her eyes on Bo. After all, they both shared years on a shelf -  idly waiting for a life that obviously wasn’t going to happen.

 

“I’m just saying,” continued Giggles, “the past is the past. You’re with us now. Whatever it is you had back then, you gotta forget it.”

  
  



	12. wishing you godspeed, glory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> major toy story 4 spoilers ahead, be warned.

Jessie twiddled the badge in between her fingers, letting it's gold coating glisten through the evening sun. 

 

Buzz had noticed that she had been doing this lately after a long day of playtime, admiring the badge while sitting on the sill - propped up with a rather unreadable face. It was like she couldn't fully grasp yet that the "sheriff" title had been given to her, needing to reaffirm this information constantly. 

 

"Florecita," he said gently. She took her eyes off the badge and gave him a small smile, his arm wrapping itself reassuringly around her shoulder. 

 

She nestled herself against him, as they watched the sky paint itself from hues of gold and pink to a blanket of black coated with white dots. 

 

"Do you miss him?" she whispered, as she intertwined her fingers with his. She felt him heave in response, tightening his grip with hers. 

 

In the absence of a certain cowboy, the two had come to realize just how much he had sacrificed - for the happiness of everyone else, in spite of himself. 

 

There was Sid's house, where he willingly broke character to save the space ranger. 

 

There was moving to Japan for Jessie's sake, despite having a kid to come home to. 

 

And then there was Andy. 

 

In which Buzz believed their separation was something Woody could never fully move on from, having been there for Andy for as long as he could remember. 

 

And in that process, he somehow managed to find a new, loving home for everyone else.

 

"All the time," he said, with a knowing smile forming on his lips. "But if he's happy, then I'm happy. That's all that really matters." 


	13. man made object

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> toy story 4 spoilers because clearly i will never be over it

They sit together this time facing the scenery of the fair, taking in the evening air and letting the flurry of bright lights blind their eyes. He has his arm wrapped around her shoulder and she has hers on his waist, both of them holding onto each other like they were the only living beings existing in this moment. 

 

She lets her fingers delicately trace shapes across his back, feeling every stitch that fastens him together. He quivers at the touch, but gives no indication that he wants her to stop. 

 

“Sweetie,” she whispers, and he turns around to let his brown eyes melt into her blue ones. 

 

He smiles, and gives her a tender kiss on her forehead. 

 

“Did it hurt?” she asks, her fingers still tracing the novel, indiscernible shapes. Up, down. 

 

She had to admit that she was a little bothered he never really talked about  _ it.  _ She has an inkling of what the answer might be having gone through it herself - but it’s different in her case. She’s gotten used to it. When it came to him, giving away something that was a huge part of him: she wasn’t completely sure. 

 

The smile widens, and he pulls her closer to him. 

 

“I promise you - I didn’t feel a thing.” 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> might be a little overdue but thank you to everyone that has read this fic so far. i genuinely didn't imagine anyone would actually enjoy it so it's a very pleasant surprise! i hope you stick around and like what you see with my other pieces as well, hopefully! 
> 
> take care of yourselves, please feel free to message or interact with me on tumblr if you'd like: 1225-sycamore


	14. gonna be up all night, tearing me up inside

“It’s just not  _ fair.” _

 

Duke was beginning to spiral into another self-deprecating, whiny episode - and Bo was definitely not having it today. 

 

“Alright, Duke.  _ Duke.  _ Look at me.” 

 

(Sometimes, she really had to admit that the height difference was a little bit of a barrier in trying to communicate with Duke seriously. Just a little.)

 

He had his arms crossed and his face scrunched in his all-star pout, holding his helmet to his chest. “I just wonder what my life could have been if he gave me a chance,” Duke’s lips quivering (a little) melodramatically. 

 

Though Bo couldn’t say she didn’t understand where all the confusion and anxiety came from. 

 

Many toys in Second Hand Antiques were abandoned without a thought, usually after years of ownership. But it was harder for Duke to process simply because of all the would-haves he constantly thought about. 

 

Because on that Christmas day, Duke was on the brink of  _ belonging _ to a kid. He was going to have a  _ home.  _ He would watch his kid  _ grow.  _

 

Something every toy, at some point, yearned for. 

 

“Duke,” she sighed, wishing it didn’t have to come to this. “Listen to me.” 

 

He returned this with a miserable pout, still clutching his helmet. 

 

“Don’t tell Giggles this,” she started, a little anxious about how Giggles would process this information if she told her. “But I once had a kid. I understand.”  

 

“You did?”

 

“Yeah.” She clicked her tongue, feeling insecure. “Her name was Molly.” 

 

“What happened?” Duke inquired, as he slowly put his helmet back on. 

 

“We had a nice time together while it lasted. She would stop crying when her mother turned my lamp on at night. For a while that was most of where my happy place was.” She chuckled. 

 

Up till that day Duke hadn’t realized that chuckles could sound so melancholic. 

 

“But one day - caboom. She just... gave me away.” 

 

The statement was said simply, like a battery going flat. 

 

“And well,” a sly smile creeping up her lips, “here we are.” 

 

Duke looked at her, stunned. Bo had always shown a strong front, always helping out toys around the shop. He had almost forgotten she had history, somewhere she came from. 

 

“But Duke. I’m not telling you this for you to pity me, or dwell that you almost had a full life with Rejean. This - and I mean  _ this,  _ is your life now. We can’t do anything about where we are but I will say: we can make the most out of it if we wanted to.” She heaved, like everything she just said lifted a weight off her own shoulders as well. 

 

Duke was silent. He had never really pondered about a life elsewhere, or that life even  _ had  _ potential possibilities - having brooding over the pain Rejean put him through for a long time. 

 

“I have one question though,” he whispered, nervous what he might be asking could potentially be hurtful. 

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Did you care about her?” 

 

_ Ah.  _ Tongue click, finger snap. 

 

“I did,” she said slowly. “I did. But maybe not enough.” 

 

An uncomfortable silence ensued, neither of them not knowing what to say. 

 

“You know,” Bo continued, not wanting to dwell in old memories anymore. “No one’s going to stop us if we decide to be something else than just being someone else’s kid. The whole world is right at your feet, Duke. Maybe it’s about time to start thinking about that, if you wanted to.”

 

Duke fastened his hat on tighter, the words dancing in his mind. 

 

_ Maybe.  _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	15. use your imagination

Andy wondered sometimes if he was a weird kid. 

 

His brain, he felt, wasn’t the most normal brain anyone else had. The first trait of course being that it was  _ his,  _ and no one else could ever take that away from him. That was something he treasured very much about himself even if he didn’t have the highest of self-esteems. 

 

The second trait being that it was noisy. It really was. Scenarios upon scenarios of adventures he wanted to bring Woody on, and they would get so intense he could actually  _ see  _ it happening right in front of him even if Woody wasn’t there. New plans, plot twists, boiling down to what he wanted each character to say. 

 

_ “Choose.. How shall she die? Sharks? Or death by monkeys?”  _

 

_ “I choose.. Buzz Lightyear!”  _

 

_ “What?! That’s not a choice!”  _

 

_ “To infinity and beyond!”  _

 

The third trait being how he would describe it visually - it was like his brain was at the seams with different colored lights and spray painted with every color imaginable, confetti and streamers completing the beautiful mess that it was. 

 

He couldn’t help it, drifting off in classes to scribble in his textbooks just so he wouldn’t forget what Evil Doctor Pork Chop or One Eyed Bart was going to do next and how Woody and Buzz would stop him. He would even get distracted in the middle of his mom talking to him, his fingers itching to hold the very objects that were crucial in bringing his technicolor thoughts to life. 


	16. i would like to see you, can i?

Bo hadn’t always been one for baring her heart out to the world, but if it was anything - she always knew exactly what she wanted. 

 

She wanted the neurotic, perfectionist cowboy. 

 

She wanted the lanky, awkward, I-Wear-My-Heart-On-My-Sleeve cowboy. 

 

She just wanted  _ him.  _ All of him, for sure. 

 

So one evening she took a stride towards him as he crooned over his doodlepad in a corner all by his lonesome, little Lenny backing away as if on cue. 

 

He noticed her shadow over his doodlepad, and looked up at her like he hadn’t sat up in a good moment. “Howdy, Miss Peep,” he greeted cheerfully, his cheeks already turning a beautiful shade of scarlet. 

 

_ You want me too, Cowboy,  _ she mused, already feeling like that sentiment was going a little over the top with it.  _ But maybe you just can’t say it to my face.  _

 

“Woody.” She replied simply, but her smile muscles gave way. 

 

“What brings you around these parts?” 

 

“I’d just like to let you in on something, if you can spare the time.” Her fingers gripped onto her crook for good measure, her insides turning into something that felt distinctly like mush. 

 

“Is there something wrong? Pull my string, did Hamm drive Rex to an existential crisis  _ again?  _ Because if he did-” 

 

Bo held her hand up, motioning for Woody to cease his immediate rambling. 

 

“I think I’m in love with you, Sheriff.” 

 

There was a brief moment of silence, for the two were both caught by surprise in that moment. 

 

“W-Well,” Woody began, and quickly chose not to stand up in fear his shaky knees would give way. “If it helps, Miss Peep? I think I might be in love with you too.” 

 

He didn’t know what exactly prompted him to be so vulnerable in that moment either, but when she brought him over to her with her crook around his neck and her lips brushed against his  - for a second the possibility of a life that wasn’t always about being there for a kid suddenly didn’t seem so bad. 

 

Maybe it was alright if he wanted a little more.


	17. hoping you'll come around

Sheriff, 

 

Is everything okay? How are you? 

 

Sheriff, 

 

I don’t know how to talk to the girls sometimes. I don’t know how to tell them how much our lives have changed. I don’t know how to tell them I am just so unsure about where we might go. For once I wish you were here to  _ give  _ me an answer, to clear my head. 

 

Sheriff,

 

Have you ever felt so deliriously  _ alone  _ before? I have been in multiple rooms with multiple different kids yet they make me feel like I don’t exist with them, like they don't need me. 

 

Sheriff, 

 

They don’t. 

 

Sheriff, 

 

It has been a weird ride of new feelings. I do not know what to do with them in the slightest. 

 

Sheriff, 

 

It’s embarrassing to admit that I think about you a lot, even if it has been years since we last saw each other. I think about you as the cars pass by my dreary, tinted retail window and I think about the adventures you are probably still having with Andy. Or maybe you’re not having adventures together anymore? Has Andy grown up? How does he look like? What is he doing? 

 

Sheriff, 

 

I eventually told someone about you, about the life we shared together. It was embarrassing. I doubt I’ll ever do it again. 

 

Sheriff, 

 

I did it again, and she smiled at me and told me it was alright. That it's okay to be sad, it's okay to be weak, it's okay to not be strong sometimes. 

 

And it feels good. 

 

Sheriff, 

 

It is pointless writing these letters that only exist in the confines of my mind, but I would imagine that maybe, somehow, you are receiving them anyway. Maybe you’re writing to me too, but I just don’t know it yet. 

 

Sheriff, 

 

Oh, Sheriff. Oh,  _ Woody.  _

 

I miss you dearly. And I can’t believe I still do.

 

Sheriff, 

 

There is an odd solace in suffering, and there are others like me who feel the same way. We cannot stay idle in this pit forever, where we have to wait for our lives to happen. I think I am about to become the very thing you dread and fear, and for that I am sorry. Please forgive me. 

 

Sheriff, 

 

I am not lost. And I hope you aren’t either, wherever you are. 

  
  
  
  



End file.
